Forgotten Man At Newcastle Plays – Scores Brilliant Goal

A number of players in Newcastle’s first team squad have not played too many games this season for us and there are two main reasons for that.

One is that Newcastle have quite a sizable first team squad for the first time for a long time – and that’s what manager Rafa Benitez wanted in the summer.

The second reason is that Rafa seems to have immediately handled the chronic injury problems at Newcastle and we have had very few injuries this season.

At the moment we have 26 players fit of the 27 man squad.

Daryl Murphy in action and scoring for the U-23 side yesterday Only Rolando Aarons with his serious long-term ACL knee problem is out injured at the moment.

One of the players who has played one game so far for Newcastle is Republic of Ireland striker Daryl Murphy, but he’s been struggling with injuries for a while now, although the striker seems to be fit again.

Three first teamers played yesterday for the U-23 side against West Brom at Whitley Park – Massadio Haidara and Achraf Lazaar played the full 90 minutes and Daryl Murphy played the first half.

The big Irishman put Newcastle ahead with what Peter Beardsley described as a brilliant goal.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Rafa Benitez and his coaches was there to watch the game.

This is what Daryl has said in he Chronicle today:

“I have been ready for the last week.” “I have trained with the lads.” “I just needed a few minutes under my belt to get rid of a few of the cobwebs.”

“I have not played for a while but feel in good shape.” “I think the main thing was to get some game-time.” “I needed that, I haven’t played for quite a while but the goal was a little bonus.”

“It’s been very frustrating because when I signed here I was fully fit and ready.” “I played one game and then picked up an injury literally the next day.”

“It has been very frustrating for me sitting in the stands and watching the lads do well.” “You want to be involved and help the team.” “But I’m on the comeback now so hopefully I can stay injury free.”

“It’s been brilliant and since I have come here there has been competition for places.” “To see the lads doing so well is great.”

“We’ve got so many players here the gaffer could choose from so many and it’s a good headache to have.”

This is what Development manager Peter Beardsley said after the game yesterday:

“I think we played really well in the first half. Daryl Murphy scored a brilliant goal, and for him to get across the near post like that was good for our kids to see and a good experience for him.”

“You can’t teach what he does. It was great to have him playing for us, but the plan was for him to play 45 minutes, which was perfect for him.”

“It’s always nice to have them, and it was good for them to be there. It was a big plus for us.”

Daryl’s one game for the club was the full 90 minutes in the League Cup win against Wolves back on September 20th.”

Let’s hope the Irishman can stay fit and battle Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic for the starting position up front at Newcastle.

Jimmy, Why do you want a model that sees us sell our best players at their peak, why not a model that sees our portly and very rich owner find away to box the figures in our favour instead of his and see us compete with the best.

I was really referring to the sale of the better ones. A number of those players you’ve mentioned were very good though, others not. It’s the lack of depth and balance that undid us. The opportunist or cynical buy in the hope it’ll be good enough. I’m confident Rafa won’t stand for any more of that.

Jail. I don’t want to sell players at their peak. Don’t see that as a key part of the approach, but do accept that selling for great money and reinvesting wisely where advantageous can help us win things and develop as a club. We are big, but we aren’t Man U, Barca, or Real Madrid.

Jimmy, Not having balance or depth was just part of the problem. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if every player is for sale and you can only sell the good ones then you get left with a team full of players you can’t sell. Of course players agitated for a move, they were told on signing here what our plans were for them.

Yeah, but as I’ve been consistently suggesting all that was the old flawed and failed approach. The Rafa led approach will I believe retain the better elements of it, jettison the bad, and add much needed experience and expertise. I’m not for one minute suggesting he’s bought into what went on before, but I’m sure he’s bought into the better parts of it. Unless you think he’s convinced Ashley to entirely abandon his model.

Jimmy, In all due respect I think you’re getting your Ashley model mixed up with your Wenger and Levy models. The Ashley model was to buy cheap and sell high while merely surviving in the PL, success and entertainment were out of the window packaged nicely as affordable football, who cares if it’s crap, like Slazenger, Dunlop and Kangol it’s affordable.

Jimmy, What were the better elements of it. Limit yourself to U25 talent that no UK team had previously bought cheaper and then sell them for a huge profit while just scraping by with enough points for the same next year. There was nothing good about tye Ashley model.

HBA. Don’t care how talented he was. He is a lost cause. Excelled at Nice where they basically just gave him the ball and let him do his thing. He’s back out of it at PSG because he can’t play the team game and I’d rather see us put out a team then rely on one star.

Riviere – Need we say any more. A gamble that really didnt pay off.

SDJ I still feel that luck just wasnt on his side. Good player but maybe just too many injuries to make it now. People moan about the lack of pace but you don’t need pace to be a good number 10. Mata is a prime example. Ozil another. I dont think we can judge him fairly based on the fact he never got going for us due to injury and lack of chances.

Santon I was disappointed about though. He was still young when we sold him and I think he could have really come on with good coaching.

Cabella, Thauvin. Again, could be decent players but they just didnt fit. Thats the problem. If you are going to have the continental model, you need all parties playing in the right direction. I got the feeling Carr wanted all these technical players while Pardew wanted work horses.

Gosling could’ve been a very shrewed acquisition on a free. I’m glad he’s doing ok at Bournemouth.

I was very disappointed with all the Colbashing going on after the game on Sunday.

Genuinely. If you can’t see what Colback can bring to this team then sadly I dont think you understand football.

He was doing all the scrappy, messy work that was allowing Shelvey to dominate that first half. He brings a balance to our squad. He only just missed out to Gayle for my MOTM vote. He was more influential in the game but credit to Gayle for that instinct Shearer was on about.

Reality is that I am happy whoever plays out of Colback and Hayden. Hayden is a better player technically, but Colback has more experience and I trust him more.

I’m suggesting that there’ll be a refined model, and it can be successful with Rafa calling the shots. Better buys, better development of them, and fewer disgruntled good players wanting to leave. The only top player that I remember the club unreservedly wanting to sell was Carroll, for compelling reasons. I don’t see us buying cheap to sell high as a core approach, but I never did before particularly either, although it did happen, mainly because the players in question wanted their move, and because of relegation.

LFG, We haven’t managed to sell SDJ or Riverie, we had to give HBA away and were desperate to sell Santon despite the threat of relegation to scrape 1.5M in. Cisse went for 6M less than we paid so I don’t really get your point.

LGFUAD – I think the “Colback Bashing ” was an invention of a few typical miscreants who deliberately chose the wrong end of the stick about observations that he was doing well in the right league. This is not Bashing, it’s realistic. Nobody I recall said he was rubbish or no good in any way as I recall. I think everyone acknowledged he does a good job in this team and environment.

HBA has always been a fashionable target but in reality he was a loss to a team arranged to play to his strengths. Coaches like the Great Pardew wanted athleticism and defending at all costs, and lacked the man-management to handle his temperament and expectations. Funny how he stormed the season with Nice, but now falls foul in a team of bought in stars under a manager who again can’t fit him in to his playing ethic. It’ll be interesting to see how PSG’s season and the term of the current coach run, but dismissing HBA as a lazy petulant show pony is a cop out if you don’t look properly at all the angles.

Tsunki, Don’t agree with you on HBA, you can’t say all but one clubs where he has been were wrong about him. I know he’s held up by some/many as a beacon of football against Pardews anti football but the guy is obviously a wrong un. He finally got a chance again in the national team and blew it after two games?. Maybe he should stay at Nice forever.

Tsunki Nobody invented anything about Colback after the game. But you trotted out a few lazy cliches (chestnuts) about yellow cards you think only he gets, the backward / sideways passes only he does, when he had just had a great game and been closely involved in both our goals.

Colback had a good game at the weekend but he’s found his level in the championship, it’s not colback bashing but just a reality as to where his abilities are for the role he plays. A bang average player who is poor at what he does in the prem but good at it in the championship.

Let’s not exaggerate his change in fortune this season to a man who always had unbelievable talent. The real test for these lads will be next season as the championship is a massive step up. Burnley showed that last night by getting thumped by WBA.

For all the good work colback does he also creates problems, sometimes it’s through giving away daft free kicks and sometimes it’s because he’ll chase the ball like a kid a leave huge holes in the midfield which ultimately cost goals. Hopefully he learns when to press and when not to under Rafa.

Unai Emery won’t be in a job for long if things continue at PSG, he’s having a real problem in identifying a style which fits his talented side. As for Arfa he’ll do well to get in ahead of Lucas and Di Maria, he’s not thrown in the towel yet though which is something he normally does so will be interesting to see how his season unfolds. Balotelli seems to to be reaping the rewards now at Nice, just goes to show proper man management is needed rather than coaches that are pre madonnas.

Our toon We have had this discussion before. If you have watched him this season, you may see he has improved. You can say it’s the championship or that it’s the system better prepared / coached, but he is providing stability to the midfield and ball for Shelvey who always has his best games with Colback in the side. Nobody has said he has ‘always had unbelievable talent’. That’s hyperbole to add weight to your old evaluation.

Sitc the only chestnut is the one about how he is a ‘hard workers’ and ‘does the unfashionable stuff”. He OK in the championship as a utility player. But in the prem he is lacking and the a little desperate.

Most central midfielders look exposed in a floundering team of misfiring want away misfits languishing in the bottom part of the table. Hard to say what our team would be like in the Prem now compared to then. It’s like night and day… We have a functional team at least. Maybe we would hold our own? Rafa will tailor the squad to make the step up.

HBA scored two of the best goals I have ever seen while at NUFC. Both at home. Each could have been goal of the season. By that I mean the entire season of club football in England. They were a rare thing. A dribble through the whole of the opposition team. But goal of the season always seems to go to the strike from 35 yards. But we see them on a regular basis.

Hatem scored some crackers but not in my favourites. Shearers volley against Everton still brings up the hairs on the back o me neck, but also remember Beardsleys solo dribbling effort against Man City.. 🙂

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health update

My latest bone scans and CAT scans were completed on Wednesday of this week and yesterday I met with my oncologist Dr. Dhruva to look over the results.

The stage four cancer remains stabilized and has not spread any further over the last six months.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in early 2017 after being in remission for six years.

The cancer metastasized through the bones to different parts of the body and the treatment I am undergoing is hormone treatment.

There is no cure for stage 4 cancer but there are treatments (like Hormone treatment) that attempt to prolong life.

I am upbeat with the results and remain in awe of the doctors and nurses at the Rex Cancer Center here in Raleigh.

It's truly humbling to see how inspiring they are with their patients.

Ed Harrison

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